Expand+Application Process
Please review the eligibility criteria on the webpages. If you believe that you meet these criteria then follow the steps below:

Select ONE potential supervisor from our list of Academic Staff (http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael...

Hide-Application Process
Please review the eligibility criteria on the webpages. If you believe that you meet these criteria then follow the steps below:

Select ONE potential supervisor from our list of Academic Staff (http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/Connect/Staff/#d.en.682133 /) and send an email containing:

A brief CV (1-2 pages maximum)
A concise statement that you are interested in studying for a PhD, stating when you would start, and how you would plan to fund the research
A brief statement of the research question or interest, and how you think the question could be investigated

Our academic staff welcome approaches from prospective students; staff can liaise with applicants to develop a research proposal of mutual interest. The potential supervisor should get back to you within a couple of weeks. They may invite you to meet with them or they may invite you to apply formally.

If you have difficulty identifying or contacting an appropriate supervisor, please contact Dr Maeve McCusker (m.mccusker@qub.ac.uk) who will be happy to help.

For part-time study – the closing date for this option is 31st August each year.

For full-time study (self-funding) – for those full time candidates who do not wish to compete for a studentship or who are not eligible to compete for a studentship the closing date is 31st August each year.

For full-time study and application for a scholarship/award; please be aware that awards are only available to full time students. Candidates wishing to apply for scholarships available within the School must apply for full-time study at the same time. Available scholarships and closing dates are detailed on the School's Scholarships web page: https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/Study/FundingScholarships/#postgraduate

Expand+Graduate
A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. While a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is not essential, it is desirable and applicants without this qual...

Hide-Graduate
A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. While a Master’s degree or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is not essential, it is desirable and applicants without this qualification will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

International Students
For information on international qualification equivalents, please check the specific information for your country.

English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required. *Taken within the last 2 years.

International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.

For more information on English Language requirements for EEA and non-EEA nationals see: www.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs.

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.

Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level

Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.

Expand+French highlights
Students are integrated into a very lively interdisciplinary research culture, have access to state of the art facilities including the McClay Library and the Graduate School.

World Class Facilities
Students have access to a ra...

Hide-French highlights
Students are integrated into a very lively interdisciplinary research culture, have access to state of the art facilities including the McClay Library and the Graduate School.

World Class Facilities
Students have access to a range of state of the art facilities including the McClay Library and the Graduate School, and can take part in the Queen’s University Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme.

Internationally Renowned Experts
The excellence of our research culture has been consistently recognised in various league tables. Most recently, French at QUB was placed 2nd in the Research Ranking of “The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020”. We are currently ranked 2nd in the UK for Research Quality, and 5th for Research Intensity, in “The Complete University Guide, 2021”. Modern Languages at QUB was ranked third in the most recent national Research Excellence Framework. 85% of our research was judged to be ‘internationally excellent or world leading’.

Key Facts
Students are integrated into a very lively interdisciplinary research culture, have access to state of the art facilities including the McClay Library and the Graduate School.

Students will have the opportunity to work with world-leading specialists across a wide variety of fields

Languages at Queens was ranked third in the UK in the most recent research assessment, and 85% of our research was judged to be of international excellence.

Facilities
Students will have access to the state of the art McClay Library and to the recently developed Graduate School.

Expand+Programme Overview
French and Francophone Studies are part of the Modern Languages research cluster which provides a vibrant environment for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship. Recognised as a centre of excellence for research into ...

Hide-Programme Overview
French and Francophone Studies are part of the Modern Languages research cluster which provides a vibrant environment for both disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship. Recognised as a centre of excellence for research into the languages, literatures, histories, and cultural identities of Europe and beyond, the cluster is founded on a dynamic and forward-looking research ethos. Established research strengths in French include nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century literature, linguistics, visual cultures, medical humanities, popular culture, postcolonial writing and Franco-Chinese writing.

Learning Outcomes
A PhD in French gives you the opportunity to follow your own research interests and to make an original contribution to the field. You will refine your skills in independent research, critical thinking, time management, and oral and written communication. A completed PhD is almost always required for academic jobs in French.

Course structure
You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.

Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students. You will submit work to a panel of up to three academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.

To complete a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of approx. 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.

A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.

Learning Outcomes
A PhD in French gives you the opportunity to follow your own research interests and to make an original contribution to the field. You will refine your skills in independent research, critical thinking, time management, and oral and written communication. A completed PhD is almost always required for academic jobs in French.

Course structure
You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.

Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students. You will submit work to a panel of up to three academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.

To complete a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of approx 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.

A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.

Expand+Research Information
Associated Research
Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature
Travel Writing
Text and Image
Medical Humanities
Postcolonial Cultures
Caribbean literature and theory
Francophone African cultures
Big Data
...

Hide-Research Information
Associated Research
Nineteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature
Travel Writing
Text and Image
Medical Humanities
Postcolonial Cultures
Caribbean literature and theory
Francophone African cultures
Big Data
Franco-Chinese Writing
Life-writing and Autobiographical Studies
Linguistics (sociolinguistics, variation, corpus linguistics, discourse analysis)
Literature and visual cultures
Nineteenth-century novel and poetry
Popular culture
Postcolonial literature and theory
Twentieth and twenty-first century French and Francophone literature and film

We also have a strong record in supervising comparative and interdisciplinary theses across the different languages represented in the School of Modern Languages and with other Schools in the University. A number of recent and current research projects have been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the EU (Horizon 2020), including a project on the digitisation of popular culture in a transnational frame, one on cultural tourism and the role of festivals and one on temporality in French and Occitan oral narrative.

Expand+Students will meet regularly with their supervisor(s), who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.

This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a pan...

Hide-Students will meet regularly with their supervisor(s), who will provide written and oral feedback; a formal assessment process takes place annually.

This Annual Progress Review requires students to present their work in writing and orally to a panel of academics from within the School. Successful completion of this process will allow students to register for the next academic year.

The final assessment of the doctoral degree is both oral and written. Students will submit their thesis to an internal and external examining team who will review the written thesis before inviting the student to orally defend their work at a Viva Voce.

Feedback
Supervisors will offer feedback on draft work at regular intervals throughout the period of registration on the degree.